Entanglement is the hallmark of quantum mechanics. Quantum entanglement -- putting two or more identical particles into a non-factorable state -- has been leveraged for applications ranging from quantum computation and encryption to high-precision metrology. Entanglement is a practical engineering resource and a tool for sidestepping certain limitations of classical measurement and communication. Engineered nonlinear optical waveguides are an enabling technology for generating entangled photon pairs and manipulating the state of single photons. This dissertation reports on: i) frequency conversion of single photons from the mid-infrared to 843nm as a tool for incorporating quantum memories in quantum networks, ii) the design, fabrication, and test of a prototype broadband source of polarization and frequency entangled photons; and iii) a roadmap for further investigations of this source, including applications in quantum interferometry and high-precision optical metrology. The devices presented herein are quasi-phase-matched lithium niobate waveguides. Lithium niobate is a second-order nonlinear optical material and can mediate optical energy conversion to different wavelengths. This nonlinear effect is the basis of both quantum frequency conversion and entangled photon generation, and is enhanced by i) confining light in waveguides to increase conversion efficiency, and ii) quasi-phase matching, a technique for engineering the second-order nonlinear response by locally altering the direction of a material's polarization vector. Waveguides are formed by diffusing titanium into a lithium niobate wafer. Quasi-phase matching is achieved by electric field poling, with multiple stages of process development and optimization to fabricate the delicate structures necessary for broadband entangled photon generation. The results presented herein update and optimize past fabrication techniques, demonstrate novel optical devices, and propose future avenues for device development. Quantum frequency conversion from 1848nm to 843nm is demonstrated for the first time, with >75% single-photon conversion efficiency. A new electric field poling methodology is presented, combining elements from multiple historical techniques with a new fast-feedback control system. This poling technique is used to fabricate the first chirped-and-apodized Type-II quasi-phase-matched structures in titanium-diffused lithium niobate waveguides, culminating in a measured phasematching spectrum that is predominantly Gaussian (R^2 = 0.80), nearly eight times broader than the unchirped spectrum, and agrees well with simulations.

A fotônica em silício é um campo de pesquisas emergente com grande potencial para contribuir com a resolução de alguns dos problemas tecnológicos da atualidade. O gargalo imposto por interconexões metálicas na expansão da taxa de transmissão de dados em sistemas de comunicação como os de computadores de alto desempenho talvez seja um dos maiores desafios a serem superados. A propagação de luz em baixas velocidades de grupo e com controle de dispersão é uma das linhas de pesquisa atuais nas quais se busca explorar de forma mais eficiente as propriedades ópticas do silício, e assim, aumentar a compatibilidade entre componentes fotônicos e a tecnologia CMOS (Complementary Metal- Oxide-Semiconductor) por meio da diminuição das dimensões e do consumo de energia de componentes ópticos ativos. Dessa forma, espera-se diminuir os custos de fabricação e viabilizar a produção em larga escala de dispositivos integrados optoeletrônicos, que poderiam ser utilizados em sistemas de comunicação de curtas distâncias e assim ampliar a largura de banda disponível. Investigações recentes têm demonstrado que a fabricação de dispositivos baseados em cristais fotônicos planares possui grande potencial para controlar simultaneamente a velocidade de grupo e a dispersão, além de permitir a redução do tamanho de elementos como curvas, divisores de potência e cavidades ressonantes devido ao efeito do confinamento dos campos através do bandgap fotônico. Dessa forma, esse trabalho aborda um estudo sobre a integração monolítica entre guias de onda, curvas de 60º e junções em Y que operam em baixas velocidades de grupo e com reduzida dispersão, construídos em cristais fotônicos planares formados por uma matriz periódica de furos em uma membrana de silício suspensa em ar. Essa investigação englobou atividades bastante intensivas, tanto de simulações por métodos numéricos, como de processos de fabricação dedicados à nanofotônica, assim como de caracterizações ópticas. Ao longo das discussões são identificados e analisados os mecanismos que afetaram de forma mais crítica a eficiência dos dispositivos propostos. Também foram avaliados os maiores problemas enfrentados nos processos de fabricação, e suas possíveis soluções foram apontadas. Os resultados demonstraram a possibilidade teórica de realizar tal integração de forma eficiente. O melhor entendimento sobre a relação entre a dispersão e os parâmetros geométricos dos guias de onda permitiram modelar curvas e divisores de potência que exibiram, respectivamente, larguras de banda em torno de 56 e 40 nm, cobrindo regiões do espectro com elevados índices de grupo. Foi possível fabricar cristais fotônicos com uma qualidade próxima das já reportadas na literatura sobre o tema e assim foram estabelecidas bases bastante sólidas para a fabricação de tais dispositivos localmente, sem a necessidade expressa de acessar centros de fabricação no exterior. / Silicon photonics is an emerging research field that has great potential to contribute to solving some of the technological problems nowadays. Maybe, one of the greatest challenges to be overcome is the bottleneck imposed by electrical interconnections in the expansion of the bandwidth of communication systems such as those of high performance computers. Slow light propagation in dispersionless media is a hot topic in the current research fields that seek to more efficiently explore the silicon optical properties, and thus, increase the compatibility between photonic components and CMOS technology by decreasing the footprint and power consumption of active optical components. This way, the manufacturing costs it is expected to be reduced by making the large-scale production of integrated optoelectronic devices feasible, and so, they could be used in short distance communication systems to expand the available bandwidth. Recent researches has also shown that photonic crystal slab waveguides are very promising to simultaneously control group velocity and devices dispersion, as well as in the reduction of the size of elements such as bends, power splitters and nanocavities due to the fields confinement through the photonic bandgap effect. Thus, this work addresses a study of the monolithic integration of slow light and dispersionless waveguides, 60º bends, and Y-junctions fabricated in air-bridge photonic crystal slabs formed by the drilling of a periodic array of air holes in a silicon membrane. The research was accomplished with intensive activities in numerical simulations, as well as in nanophotonic manufacturing processes, and optical characterizations. Throughout the discussions were identified and analyzed the mechanisms that more critically affected the devices efficiency. The major problems faced in the manufacturing processes were also evaluated, and their possible solutions were pointed out. The results demonstrated a theoretical possibility of performing such integration more efficiently. Having a better understandment about the relation between the photonic crystal waveguides geometrical parameters and their dispersion allowed the modeling of bends and power splitters which exhibited 3 dB bandwidths that covered, respectively, ranges around 56 and 40 nm, along spectral regions with very high group indices. It was possible to fabricate photonic crystals with a quality close to those already reported in the literature on this subject and thus, very solid bases were established for the manufacture of such devices locally, without the necessity of accessing manufacturing centers abroad.

This thesis consist of a theoretical study of propagation effects in optical waveguides, fibres and photonic crystals, with some comparison with experiment.¶ Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction with the current view of optical components in photonic integrated circuits and issues related to the loss mechanism.¶ In Chapter 2 the characteristics of single-mode propagation and transient effects in practical square- and rectangular-core buried channel planar waveguides are quantified, assuming a cladding which is unbounded in one transverse dimension and bounded in the other. The wavelength cut-off condition for the fundamental mode is determined when the cladding index is asymmetric and composed of step-wise, uniform index regions.¶ In Chapter 3, the application of segmented reflection gratings in planar devices that can function as either a single- or two-wavelength add/drop filter is investigated and a numerical technique developed in Chapter 2 is applied to the waveguides with high extinction ratio. The role of the segmented gratings is analogous to that of a blazed grating, but they can provide a higher reflectivity level at the Bragg wavelength, eliminate back reflection into the fundamental mode and provide arbitrarily small channel spacing in the two-wavelength case.¶ Chapters 4 address the problem of bend loss in a single-mode slab waveguide. A new theoretical strategy for reducing bend loss is presented and compared to existing designs. The results obtained in this chapter are the basis for the following two chapters.¶ Chapter 5 deals with bend loss in single-mode buried channel waveguides and demonstrates that the new strategy can lead to significant bend loss reduction when compared to other strategies, and, conversely, can be used to enhance bend loss for a fixed bend radius for application to devices such as optical attenuators.¶ In Chapter 6, a novel design of a variable optical attenuator based on a bent channel waveguide is proposed, realized by applying a new strategy for bend loss control in a polymer buried channel waveguide.¶ Chapter 7 investigates effects of the additional rings in a single mode step-index fibre on bend loss. It is supported with the experimental results of Ron Bailey from Optical the Fibre Technology Centre, University in Sydney.¶ In Chapter 8, bend loss of a one-dimensional photonic crystal is quantified and compared to bend loss of a standard single-mode slab waveguide and a bend-resistant waveguide.¶

This paper describes recent progress in a continuing program to develop and apply RM³ (recess mounting with monolithic metallization) technologies for heterogeneous integration. Particular emphasis is placed on the applicability of RM³ integration to in-plane geometries for on-chip optical clock and signal distribution and on the suitability of commercially processed IC wafers for use as substrates for rectangular dielectric waveguides. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Optical waveguides, quantum dot emitters, and flat top beam shapers were designed and fabricated by two soft lithographic techniques; micro transfer molding (microTM) and vacuum assisted microfluidics (VAM). Optical waveguides were fabricated through a microTM technique that utilizes a poly dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp. Generation of the flexible stamp required development of a channel waveguide pattern mask, defined by maskless lithography, and followed by construction of a three dimensional channel waveguide master, acquired through contact lithography on a glass substrate coated with SU-8 photoresist. Creation of a positive imprint replicating mold was accomplished through prepolymer PDMS solution settling and curing around the master. Waveguide fabrication was achieved through PDMS conformal contact on, and subsequent curing of, ultraviolet (UV) polymer resins on a silicon substrate. A slight modification of the microTM PDMS stamp, whereby inlet and outlet tunnels were incorporated, resulted in a novel VAM structure and correspondingly waveguides. Waveguide propagation losses were determined to be 1.14 dB/cm and 0.68 dB/cm for the microTM and VAM fabricated waveguides, respectively. A lithographic approach employing quantum dots doped in SU-8 photoresist has led to the realization of a new quantum dot emitter. Uniform coating of a doped material on a silver coated substrate was followed by contact mask lithography. Evaporation of a thin silver layer, upon development of the resultant quantum dot doped channel waveguide structure, facilitates confined emission. Successful edge emitting was demonstrated with blue laser pumping. The lithographic fabrication of such quantum dot emitter is successfully replaced by soft lithographic VAM technique. A flat top beam shaper, whose profile was developed on cured UV polymer resins, was fabricated by microTM technique. The master used for the development of the PDMS stamp was produced through an iterative wet etching process capable of achieving etching depths as small as a few nanometers. Comparisons between the reference wet etched beam shaper and the microTM based beam shaper produced near identical output flat top beams from incident Gaussian beams. Through this research work, successful soft lithographic fabrication of optical waveguides, quantum dot emitters, and flat top beam shapers were demonstrated. The vast potential exhibited by these and other related technologies show great promise for cost-effective mass production of various micro optics and integrated photonic components.

Surface plasmon-polaritons are optical surface waves formed through the interaction of photons with free electrons at the surface of metals. They offer interesting applications in a broad range of scientific fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and material science. However, many of such applications face limitations imposed by the high propagation losses of these waves at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, which result mainly from power dissipation in the metal. In principle, the propagation losses of surface plasmon-polaritons can be compensated through optical amplification. The objective of this thesis is to provide deeper insights on the physics of surface plasmon-polariton amplification and spontaneous emission in surface plasmon-polariton amplifiers through theoretical and experimental vehicles applied (but not necessarily restricted) to a particular plasmonic mode termed long-range surface plasmon-polariton. On the theoretical side, the objective is approached by developing a realistic theoretical model to describe the small-signal amplification of surface plasmon-polaritons in planar structures incorporating dipolar gain media such as organic dye molecules, rare-earth ions, and quantum dots. This model takes into account the inhomogeneous gain distribution formed near the metal surface due to a non-uniform excitation of dipoles and due to a position-dependent excited-state dipole lifetime that results from near-field interactions between the excited dipoles and the metal. Also, a theoretical model to describe the amplified spontaneous emission of surface plasmon-polaritons supported by planar metallic structures is developed. This model takes into account the different energy decay channels into which an exited dipole located in the vicinity of the metal can relax. The validity of this model is confirmed through experimentation. On the experimental side, the objective is approached by providing a direct experimental demonstration of complete loss compensation in a plasmonic waveguide. The experiments are conducted using the long-range surface plasmon-polariton supported by a symmetric thin gold waveguide incorporating optically pumped organic dye molecules in solution as the gain medium. Also, an experimental study of spontaneous emission in a long-range surface plasmon-polariton amplifier is presented. It is shown that this amplifier benefits from a low spontaneous emission into the amplified mode, which leads to an optical amplifier with low noise characteristics. The experimental setup and techniques are explained in detail.

This dissertation addresses three research challenges in planar lightwave circuit (PLC) optical signal processing. 1. Dynamic localization, a relatively new class of quantum phenomena, has not been demonstrated in any system to date. To address this challenge, the quantum system was mapped to the optical domain using a set of curved, coupled PLC waveguides in aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs). The devices demonstrated, for the first time, exact dynamic localization in any system. These experiments motivate further mappings of quantum phenomena in the optical domain, leading toward the design of novel optical signal processing devices using these quantum-analog effects. 2. The PLC microresonator promises to reduce PLC device size and increase optical signal processing functionality. Microresonators in a parallel cascaded configuration, called "side coupled integrated spaced sequence of resonators" (SCISSORs), could offer very interesting dispersion compensation abilities, if a sufficient number of rings is present to produce fully formed "Bragg" gaps. To date, a SCISSOR with only three rings has been reported in a high-index material system. In this work, one, two, four and eight-ring SCISSORs were fabricated in AlGaAs. The eight-ring SCISSOR succeeded in producing fully formed Bragg peaks, and offers a platform to study interesting linear and nonlinear phenomena such as dispersion compensators and gap solitons. 3. PLCs are ideal candidates to satisfy the projected performance requirements of future microchip interconnects. In addition to data routing, these PLCs must provide over 100-bit switchable delays operating at ~ 1 Tbit/s. To date, no low loss optical device has met these requirements. To address this challenge, an ultrafast, low loss, switchable optically controllable delay line was fabricated in AlGaAs, capable of delaying 126 bits, with a bit-period of 1.5 ps. This successful demonstrator offers a practical solution for the incorporation of optics with microelectronics systems. The three aforementioned projects all employ, in their unique way, the coupling of light between PLC waveguides in AlGaAs. This central theme is explored in this dissertation in both its two- and multi-waveguide embodiments.

This dissertation addresses three research challenges in planar lightwave circuit (PLC) optical signal processing. 1. Dynamic localization, a relatively new class of quantum phenomena, has not been demonstrated in any system to date. To address this challenge, the quantum system was mapped to the optical domain using a set of curved, coupled PLC waveguides in aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs). The devices demonstrated, for the first time, exact dynamic localization in any system. These experiments motivate further mappings of quantum phenomena in the optical domain, leading toward the design of novel optical signal processing devices using these quantum-analog effects. 2. The PLC microresonator promises to reduce PLC device size and increase optical signal processing functionality. Microresonators in a parallel cascaded configuration, called "side coupled integrated spaced sequence of resonators" (SCISSORs), could offer very interesting dispersion compensation abilities, if a sufficient number of rings is present to produce fully formed "Bragg" gaps. To date, a SCISSOR with only three rings has been reported in a high-index material system. In this work, one, two, four and eight-ring SCISSORs were fabricated in AlGaAs. The eight-ring SCISSOR succeeded in producing fully formed Bragg peaks, and offers a platform to study interesting linear and nonlinear phenomena such as dispersion compensators and gap solitons. 3. PLCs are ideal candidates to satisfy the projected performance requirements of future microchip interconnects. In addition to data routing, these PLCs must provide over 100-bit switchable delays operating at ~ 1 Tbit/s. To date, no low loss optical device has met these requirements. To address this challenge, an ultrafast, low loss, switchable optically controllable delay line was fabricated in AlGaAs, capable of delaying 126 bits, with a bit-period of 1.5 ps. This successful demonstrator offers a practical solution for the incorporation of optics with microelectronics systems. The three aforementioned projects all employ, in their unique way, the coupling of light between PLC waveguides in AlGaAs. This central theme is explored in this dissertation in both its two- and multi-waveguide embodiments.

Surface plasmon-polaritons are optical surface waves formed through the interaction of photons with free electrons at the surface of metals. They offer interesting applications in a broad range of scientific fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and material science. However, many of such applications face limitations imposed by the high propagation losses of these waves at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, which result mainly from power dissipation in the metal. In principle, the propagation losses of surface plasmon-polaritons can be compensated through optical amplification. The objective of this thesis is to provide deeper insights on the physics of surface plasmon-polariton amplification and spontaneous emission in surface plasmon-polariton amplifiers through theoretical and experimental vehicles applied (but not necessarily restricted) to a particular plasmonic mode termed long-range surface plasmon-polariton. On the theoretical side, the objective is approached by developing a realistic theoretical model to describe the small-signal amplification of surface plasmon-polaritons in planar structures incorporating dipolar gain media such as organic dye molecules, rare-earth ions, and quantum dots. This model takes into account the inhomogeneous gain distribution formed near the metal surface due to a non-uniform excitation of dipoles and due to a position-dependent excited-state dipole lifetime that results from near-field interactions between the excited dipoles and the metal. Also, a theoretical model to describe the amplified spontaneous emission of surface plasmon-polaritons supported by planar metallic structures is developed. This model takes into account the different energy decay channels into which an exited dipole located in the vicinity of the metal can relax. The validity of this model is confirmed through experimentation. On the experimental side, the objective is approached by providing a direct experimental demonstration of complete loss compensation in a plasmonic waveguide. The experiments are conducted using the long-range surface plasmon-polariton supported by a symmetric thin gold waveguide incorporating optically pumped organic dye molecules in solution as the gain medium. Also, an experimental study of spontaneous emission in a long-range surface plasmon-polariton amplifier is presented. It is shown that this amplifier benefits from a low spontaneous emission into the amplified mode, which leads to an optical amplifier with low noise characteristics. The experimental setup and techniques are explained in detail.

This thesis describes various methods for producing photon pairs from waveguides. It covers relevant topics such as waveguide coupling and phase matching, along with the relevant measurement techniques used to infer photon pair production. A new proposal to solve the phase matching problem is described along with two conceptual methods for generating entangled photon pairs. Photon pairs are also experimentally demonstrated from a third novel structure called a Bragg Reflection Waveguide (BRW). The new proposal to solve the phase matching problem is called Directional Quasi-Phase Matching (DQPM). It is a technique that exploits the directional dependence of the non-linear susceptiblity ($\chi^{(2)}$) tensor. It is aimed at those materials that do not allow birefringent phase-matching or periodic poling. In particular, it focuses on waveguides in which the interplay between the propagation direction, electric field polarizations and the nonlinearity can change the strength and sign of the nonlinear interaction periodically to achieve quasi-phasematching. One of the new conceptual methods for generating entangled photon pairs involves a new technique that sandwiches two waveguides from two differently oriented but similar crystals together. The idea stems from the design of a Michelson interferometer which interferes the paths over which two unique photon pair processes can occur, thereby creating entanglement in any pair of photons created in the interferometer. By forcing or sandwiching the two waveguides together, the physical space that exists in the standard Micheleson type interferometer is made non-existent, and the interferometer is effectively squashed. The result is that the two unique photon pair processes actually occupy the same physical path. This benefits the stability of the interferometer in addition to miniaturizing it. The technical challenges involved in sandwiching the two waveguides are briefly discussed. The main result of this thesis is the observation of photon pairs from the BRW. By analyzing the time correlation between two single photon detection events, spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) of a picosecond pulsed ti:sapph laser is demonstrated. The process is mediated by a ridge BRW. The results show evidence for type-0, type-I and type-II phase matching of pump light at 783nm, 786nm and 789nm to down converted light that is strongly degenerate at 1566nm, 1572nm, and 1578nm respectively. The inferred efficiency of the BRW was 9.8$\cdot$10$^{-9}$ photon pairs per pump photon. This contrasts with the predicted type-0 efficiency of 2.65$\cdot$10$^{-11}$. This data is presented for the first time in such waveguides, and represents significant advances towards the integration of sources of quantum information into the existing telecommunications infrastructure.